Nimieties of Love
by Karen Hikari
Summary: "I mean, back at the Isle. Things were different. Not better, not worse, just different. Well, they were worse but what I'm saying is that when we were there we just didn't notice because we didn't know there was anything else" Mal let out nervously. But maybe, maybe, things like a food fight or a small mess were really just nimieties when there was love in between.


**Hi! Okay, lets start this by saying that I tried my best not to let this happen. I told myself "Karen, don't do this, you have tons of pendant work and you have no time to do this. You won't write fanfiction about a Disney movie, for God's sake", but of course I love to prove myself wrong and ended up writing this and with some other ideas that you will see around here very soon.**

 **I'm not quite sure about where this came from, it just kinda did. Truth is, I didn't fully like the Belle from the movie, and I'm not talking about her physical appearence, but about her personality. She said little to nothing and simply stayed next to King Adam nodding to whatever he said. I'm sorry, but I'm a feminist through and through and that is just... frustrating for me. Anyways, I don't even know why I'm saying this.**

 **So, you'lll totally see me around in a short while with more fanfics about this movie and I really hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 ** _Nimieties of Love_**

* * *

It had started pretty nicely—as all things in Auradon did. But it had suddenly twisted into something that would have been hilarious if it weren't for how awkward it was getting, as things always seemed to end for them.

It had been Ben's idea, He'd said that the four of them had to meet his parents, the former king and queen of the United States of Auradon.

Of course they had denied, the first ten times that Ben brought up the matter they had carefully put it down, but they had ended up accepting. Ben was the king now, and they did have to give a good impression to Belle and Adam after all, and refusing an invitation from royalty was not a good thing to do if they intended to do that.

So they had accepted, which was the reason the four former villains were currently in the castle owned by Auradon's crowned heads.

Needless to say they were all nervous, standing in a dining room that was twice the size of their houses back at the Isle, beautiful golden chandeliers hanging lazily over them, the costly diner service displayed just under their eyes.

And, needless to say too, this entire formal atmosphere was only making them even more self-conscious and nervous.

Carlos was more jumpy than usual, for example, and that was saying something already; Jay couldn't stop tapping his feet and fidgeting; Evie´s fingers happened to fly to her hair once every two second or so, and Mal exhaled deeply more often than not, refraining the urge to play with her fingers under the table.

Not for the first time, Mal asked herself why was it that they had agreed to come in the first place, but she tried with all her self-control to push the thought away—with few to no results, let it be said, but that didn't mean that she would stop trying.

They had just arrived to the palace, and she was already in the verge of passing out, which was as bad idea as using the forks to comb her hair, if you asked her opinion. The worst of it all was that they had also promised to stay the night in the castle and leave until the morning, as the place was further away from Auradon's Prep that what they would have liked. 'Just so you can spend more time with my family and you get to know each other better' was all that Ben had said; she had wanted to throttle him, but that didn't seem like quite a good idea either.

Never had she thought that the time would come for her to miss those hideous pink curtains and pastel paintings. But she did. At the moment, she wanted nothing but the childish bedroom she had left behind at the Institute.

In honor of the truth, the former king and queen were just as nervous as the teenagers, with Belle rearranging her dress at least once in a minute and king Adam brushing an imaginary dot of dust away from his tuxedo quite often.

Only Ben seemed to be collected and unaffected by the tension that was so obviously palpable in the atmosphere, but Mal could easily tell that he, too, was holding his breath by the way that his shoulders were pulled back and by how tight his jaw was held. Funny, she thought, that she had come to be able to read him so naturally, even when she wasn't even trying to do it.

Currently, the seven of them were sitting to a large mahogany table, its legs carved as lion´s paws, Belle and Adam face to face from one head of the table to the other. To Adam's right sat Ben; to his right, Mal; to hers, Evie. And then, at the second head, Belle's place, to her right, Jay; to his, Carlos, and lastly, a chair had been left empty between the boy and the former male ruler.

Both Ben and Evie had tried to explain who sat at who's sides and why in the court's rules, but all in all, Mal was having a hard time remembering her own name, let alone which was the right way to sit or the correct etiquette.

"So" Ben started, as casually as he could. "How are things doing here?"

"Uh?" Belle asked, pulling a couple of rebel bangs behind her left ear. "Oh, fine! Fine! Chip came last week to see his mother and stayed for a couple of days. Wasn't that nice, Adam, dear?" she inquired aloud.

"It sure was" the Beast nodded. "We hadn't seen the boy in a while. When was the last time he came before this one?"

Before another uncomfortable silence could settle itself among then, seven butlers appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and served the table, exquisite smells mixing in the air and making them all forget their awkwardness at once, self-consciousness replaced by the urge to try those tasty plates.

As they started eating, Evie decided it was her turn to try to break the silence, and the ice, if given the opportunity.

"Queen Belle" she respectfully called, bringing everyone's attention on herself. "Is this Chinese porcelain?" she asked, speaking about the flatware.

"I'm not a queen anymore, sweetie" she replied, smiling kindly. "But yes, it is Chinese porcelain. Mulan and Shang sent it a couple of years ago for my birthday. Actually, you must know their daughter Lonnie, she's—".

"We do" Mal piped in. "We take Home Economics with her".

"And I have Cut and Confection with her too" Evie continued.

"Is she interested in fashion design?" Beast asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Well" Evie admitted, "She needed the points, and this class is easy".

"Evie on the other side is really good at it" Ben pointed out, smiling. Maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

"Are you?" Belle inquired gently.

Suddenly aware of Belle's and Adam's eyes on her, Evie couldn't help but play with her fingers nervously.

"I-I do like it, but I wouldn't consider myself—"

"She's the greatest" Mal cut her off. "She'll be the best dressmaker Auradon has seen, just you wait and see, I promise".

And just like that, the palace didn't seem as huge and intimidating as it had been moments before; Belle and Adam certainly looked kinder and more comprehensive, Mal had almost started to actually enjoy the meal when the loud crashing of dishes reminded her of who was also sitting at the table with them.

Needless to say, since a week aback, Evie and Mal had repeated until exhaustion to Jay and Carlos how important it was that they behaved themselves and showed their best manners during the visit. Jay even had dared to ask her if she believed that he would let her down, smiling at Mal as if she were one of his catches, and Carlos had simply nodded at her, but they clearly didn't remember any of it right then.

Honestly enough, Mal wouldn't have cared less of the way the boys ate—had it been only the four of them, but this was the royal family they were eating with, for crying out loud.

The truth was that, yes, she had eaten meals as hazardously back at the Isle, and yes, she was holding the wrong fork for the salad because no matter how many times Evie had repeated to her which piece of cutlery was for what, she'd been unable to remember it, but one thing was to mistake the fork and another thing _entirely_ was to _not_ be using one at all.

Mal knew, by the way that Evie bit her lower lip that she had noticed the boys' poor manners too, but instead of freezing like she had, Evie tried to keep the conversation casual and continued speaking to Belle and Adam charmingly in an attempt to keep their attention on her and on how she certainly was a part of royalty because she was using the _correct_ fork for the salad.

Really, all that the daughter of Maleficent wanted was for a crack to open under her feet and swallow her, but she knew better than anyone that those things didn't happen in Auradon. She sighed slowly, as Ben took her left hand in his right, squeezing it gently to let her know that he was there to support her.

Truth to be said, either both Belle and Adam hadn't noticed the boys' unconscious rude manners at all or they were very convincing at pretending that they hadn't.

Sighing again, Mal tried to keep up with the conversation in which Adam was proudly explaining that the model for the lion's paws of the chairs and table's legs had in fact been the Nemean Lion, which Hercules had killed using only his arms as the animal's powerful skin made it impossible for any weapon to hurt him.

–*–*–

An eternity later, dinner was finally over and they were taken to the bedrooms they had been destined.

Of course the four of them had assured that they could do fine with only two bedrooms, or even one. But Belle had seemed scandalized and answered that there was no need for such a thing. Oh, no, Belle had argued, courtesy and politeness still existed in that castle and they each deserved to be treated in the same exact way that any other visitant would have been received.

Thus was the reason why Mal was now laying in an unknown bed, completely awake and Evie was not there for her to talk to in what was the first time in months. Funny, she thought again, how she had become so used to the princess' ways, even when she had hated her so strongly the first time they had met.

Sighing, she straightened back up and directed herself to the door. The hallway, brightly lightened made her eyes sting, but she stepped into the light and closed the door behind her either way, careful to remember next to which portrait her bedroom was located so she didn't get lost and made a fool out of herself. Enough had happened that afternoon already.

Earlier, as Mrs. Potts guided her through the labyrinth of rooms and aisles, she had been able to spot a marble balcony and all she could think of now was reaching that place and standing under the bright moonlight, surrounded by the cold wind until the chilling air made her forget all the reasons as to why they shouldn't have accepted that invitation in the first place, which was the reason she'd dared leave the room she was supposed to be staying in.

Mal didn't have to walk much before she found the glass doors that directed to the balcony and she could sigh in relief. Big was her surprise, however, when said doors opened to reveal a female shadow on the other side of the dark-blue curtains.

All in all, she could just think of one other person who could be awake at that unholy hour.

"Evie!" she let out, pushing away the hangings, only to find that it was not her friend the one standing in front of her, but Belle herself.

The former queen wore a light-yellow nightgown, her brunette hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, her hazel eyes fixed in something far, far away that Mal couldn't see just before they turned to her.

"Queen Belle" the daughter of Maleficent said ashamedly as she gestured to step back. "I'm so sorry for disturbing you, I—"

"No, Mal, stay" Belle offered kindly, looking back to whatever she had been watching before the girl's arrival, her elbows comfortingly placed on the cold, white surface of the marble.

Solicitously obeying, Mal walked to Belle's side and looked down, marveling herself at how tiny and far away the houses seemed at that height.

"It's a gorgeous view, isn't it?" Belle asked warmly. "This is my favorite spot in the whole castle".

"I thought it was the library" Mal said aloud without thinking, mentally smacking herself at her own rudeness as soon as the words left her mouth. Belle, however, only laughed keenly.

"You're right, young girl!" she replied. "The library used to be my favorite place in the world, but that was before I became a queen and realized that hundreds of lives depended on me and the decisions that I took. Half from Auradon can be seen from here. It helps me remember that, sometimes, things aren't as simple as we wished they were".

Mal nodded slowly, swallowing. _Only half of Auradon?_ , she thought, the extension of land was already thrice as big as the Isle she had lived in for her whole life, and a thousand, a million times as beautiful with its forests and deserts instead of the Isle's infinite piles of… garbage.

"It's amazing" she agreed, breathing in the freezing night air, though in Auradon even that seemed more welcoming than it did on the Isle.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, with the wind deliciously howling through the treetops.

That until Mal remembered the reason she was so nervous to start with.

"Queen Belle" she said, feeling how the sovereign turned over her right shoulder to face her, although Mal's green eyes continued to be fixed in the distance. "I'm so sorry about what happened earlier" she finally said.

"Excuse me?" Belles inquired, slightly confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Jay and Carlos and the mess at the dining room" she explained.

"Mal, it´s alright" Belle reassured, smiling warmly at her. "I married a man whose manners weren't the best either and I was not always part of royalty".

"You don't understand" the daughter of Maleficent murmured. "I don't know what happened. I swear to you that they haven't eaten like that since the first time we came from the Isle, and I do have to justify that one time because they were starved, but I—"

"Hold it there" Belle interrupted, raising her extended palms in front of the girl's eyes, her burrow furrowing. "What do you mean 'starved'?"

Suddenly aware of what she had just said, Mal internally cursed her big mouth as she bit her lower lip and became even more nervous with each passing second.

"I mean, back at the Isle" she said. "Things were different, it's just that. Not better, not worse, just different. Well, they certainly were worse but what I'm saying is that when we were there we just didn't notice because we didn't know there was any other way of living. It's just as it is. And with the islanders consuming Auradon's leftovers…" her voice drift off as she noticed Belle's horrified expression, by the time she tried to fix her previous words she had already said more than enough. "And that's alright because, the worse is the better there, so you don't notice how bad things really are unless you're not there anymore. It's easier to be picky here" she stated, shrugging, conscious that she had to close her really big mouth before saying the wrong thing.

Which she had already said, judging by Belle's heart-broken expression.

The look in Belle's eyes was somewhat similar to that one Lonnie had given them not so long ago when they had answered that no, villains didn't love their children, but it was different too.

Belle's eyes were kinder and not so full of surprise as those of Mulan's daughter, but rather with a knowing and pained expression. There was no pity in her dark eyes, and even when Mal recognized the compassion she so much despised in the way that Belle was looking down at her, she wasn't bothered by it—Belle was so warm and so immensely comprehensive that she couldn't be mad at the former queen for being looked under those hazel orbs. No wonder she had been so dear for her subjects.

"Mal" the woman finally said in a low voice. "It's me who has to apologize" she declared. "Sometimes we might think that we are doing the right thing, but those are the occasions in which we are more mistaken than ever. Sometimes we try to protect certain people but we forget that, further away, other people need to be saved rather than protected. My son was very true when he said that we, Adam and I, were being not only unfair, but foolish too. And he was even truer when he decided to bring you four to Auradon".

Slowly, as if to prove she meant no harm to her, Belle circled Mal's shoulders and pulled the daughter of Maleficent to her chest. Before Mal could even think anything, the former queen continued talking.

"Mal" she said, almost whispering. "I'm proud of who my son fell in love with. I'm proud of you" she assured as they pulled back, but not completely, as Belle's hands slide down from Mal's shoulders to her wrists. "Things are different here, you yourself have said it. I don't want you or any of your friends, for the matter, to be anyone but yourselves. And if that means that the castle's dining room will become a warzone then I have to say that you'll always be welcomed" she concluded. And she smiled, smiled so brightly that Mal could hardly believe that she was at the receiving end of such a beautiful gesture.

"I-I don't know what to say" she admitted, almost whispering, thinking she had sounded stupid thanks to her blunt honesty. Belle, on the other side, just continued to look at her fondly.

"Thank you is a good start" she offered. "Though, I have to say you own me nothing, and if someone deserves your gratitude, that's my son, not me. But I see that, more than your thankfulness, he has your love, which is twice as good".

Mal nodded, knew her cheeks had tainted with a light red. She could only hope that the night was too dark for Belle to notice her blush, which was unlikely, as nothing in Auradon was really dark enough to hide anything.

"Thank you, then" she finally let out.

"What for?" Belle asked kindly. Mal sighed, feeling like the protagonist of the fairy-tales she had despised for so long.

"For teaching Ben about kindness and love" she answered without doubting. "For having raised him to be the person he is" 'The person who saved me', she internally added.

To her words, Belle's eyes softened a bit more, if even possible.

"You are welcome" Belle replied, finally breaking apart, but raising her left hand to brush a couple of rebel bangs away from Mal's green eyes before directing herself to the white doors. "And thank you too" it was now Mal's turn to look surprised.

"What for?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"For reminding me that we are not what others want us to be" Belle answered, her right hand already gripping the doorknob. "I was not a simple housewife any more than you were a villain and whatever the others say comes out to be simple nimieties" she affirmed.

And with that, Belle was gone.

Mal stayed in the balcony for a couple of more minutes before following Belle's example and returning to her own room. As she did, she took the time to look at the portraits that hung from the walls, portraits of heroes and their families, of people she'd been instructed to hate and destroy but that had been kinder to her in a couple of months than the one person instructing her ever was.

Maybe, she thought, finally drifting off, things like a food fight or a small mess were really just nimieties when there was love in between.

* * *

 **Welll I'm not sure about how that went by, so... I hope it didn't crash and burn too hard, I don't even know where it came from.**

 **Anyways, I'd love to listen to your opinions abput this little something, about the movie, about the book if you read it, about the possibility of a second movie for this guys, anything, really!**

 **Read you soon! ;)**


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